SELLING ARTICLES ON LISTVERSE

Selling articles on listverse

I came across a site called listverse while watching a youtube tutorial on how to make money from writing articles. The site in question was listverse. It is a site where you submit a list of whatever it is you are writing about. For example “Ten weight loss hacks.”

You do not need to be a writer according to the tutorial. All you need to do is to go on to a site such as Articlesbase or Articlesfactory and copy an article from one of these sites.

Then you go to a site such as spinbot or quillbot and get the article rewritten into your own words.

Next step is to go over the article to make sure it makes sense.

Then you submit the rewritten article to listverse.

I decided to use one of my own articles to submit to listverse only to find out that the minimum number of words per article was 1800. My articles are between 400-1000 words. The articles on Articlesbase, Articlesfactory, Ezinearticles, and the like are all under 1000 words therefore will not be accepted on listverse. One would need to add to the article until it reached the minimum 1800 words.

I kept working on my article until it grew to over 1800 words then I submitted it to listverse.

It was rejected because it was not what they were looking for.

Listverse does not accept articles on self-help, opinion, product rankings or reviews, money making guides, personal experiences, health advice, gaming or sports, and social justice.

They also inform me that they receive over 100 articles submissions each day and of those, only 3 are accepted for publication. 

These are not very good odds when you are competing against some very skilled writers.

None of this was even mentioned in the Youtube tutorial.  

My advice is to look elsewhere if you are looking for a site which pays for articles or do a google search and type in “Listverse alternatives” and see what crops up.

Incidentally, the article which I sent in was titled “Ten weight-loss hacks,” which was my own article. I posted this article on several free article sites such as ezinearticles, livejournal, articlebiz, justpaste.it, and others.

You can read the article on www.loseweightnz.blogspot.com

www.robertastewart.com

How to prioritize your spending

INTRODUCTION

It is important to prioritize your spending in order to get the best outcome for your finances. This will often mean delaying those items that you want in preference for something which is really needed. For example, car repair expenses should have priority over that new smartphone you saw advertised on TV. There is a system you can use to decide on how to prioritize your discretionary spending and this is explained.

How to prioritize your spending

We all spend money. That is the purpose of getting a job or being in business. All of the expenses involved in living need to be paid for somehow. Once the necessities are taken care of, what is left over is called discretionary spending money. It is up to us to make a choice with whatever discretionary spending money we have. We can save it or we can spend it, it is up to our individual choices.

Some folk fritter away their spending money because they have no plan to make the most of what they have. 

Two people can have the same level of income and the same outgoings but one has a financial plan and the other does not. I can tell you that the difference in financial positions between the two in the long term will be massive.

The truth is that both have a plan, one a plan for a favourable financial outcome and the other a plan for financial failure; the core difference between the person with a financial plan and the one who does not is priorities. They each have different priorities on how to use their money.

How do you establish priorities?

Here is a simple system.

Make a list of your top five goals on what you are saving for.

This could be to save for a smartphone, savings, new car, holiday, pay off debt, buy a new tv, or whatever.

Once you have written out your five items for your list, place a number besides them, one to five in no particular order of preference.

Now put them in groups of two. 

One and two, one and three, one and four, one and five, two and three, two and four, two and five, three and four, three and five, and four and five.

You will have ten groups of two.

Next place a circle around your preferred option in each group of two.

Here is an example.

Sam lists his top five goals (not in order)

  1. Paying off Debt
  2. Buying a cellphone
  3. Buying a motor vehicle
  4. Saving
  5. Going for an overseas holiday

The first group is Paying off debt V Buying a cellphone which if I was Sam I would circle paying off debt.

The next group is Paying off debt V Buying a motor vehicle. Once again I would circle the paying off debt option if I was Sam.

The third group is paying off debt V Saving and once again I would circle paying off debt because by paying off debt you do not have to pay interest on the money which has been borrowed.

Go through all of the other combinations and the option which has been circled the most is your priority.

This all clarifies your thinking.

ABOUT THIS ARTICLE

Feel free to share this article or even use it as content for your ebook or website. Other articles can be found on www.robertastewart.com

History of share market crashes

INTRODUCTION

It is not a secret that the stock market can be volatile; history has shown us this. There are many factors which are the cause of a falling market; they could be a change of President in the US, correction in the market, or nervousness by investors resulting in them selling off their stocks. Whether a 1929 or 87 style crash occurs this decade or not, one thing is clear; it is still important to save and invest for the future because one thing is certain; you will cease working one day and need something to fall back on.

History of share market crashes

When one thinks of share market crashes two years spring to mind, 1929 and 1987, hopefully, such crashes on the scale which wiped out life savings are not going to occur in the foreseeable future. It is not guaranteed that it will not happen, but then nothing in this world is guaranteed apart from death and taxes.

There have been other financial meltdowns outside of the two main ones. Asian Financial Crisis of the 90s and the GFC of 2008 wiped billions of dollars off share values. 

The next major financial meltdown in the markets could be caused by the very people who will be most affected by it, Baby Boomers.

Why?

Because as more and more of them retire, they will withdraw their savings out of the stock market causing a major selloff.

This has been predicted in the past but there has not yet been any sign of this happening with the markets at record levels, however, who is bold enough to predict which direction the stock exchange will head in the future?

One thing you can guarantee is that there will be another market crash in the future; investors just need to be prepared for it.

Here are the most notable share market crashes within the last 100 years.

1929-The Wall Street Crash

The Wall Street crash lasted for over four years. Investors borrowed money to buy shares and when shares were sold off to repay the money to their creditors investors were left out of pocket. The 1929 crash led to the 1930s Great depression.

1962-The Kennedy Slide

The stock market had enjoyed a steady rise since the 1929 crash with the ten years prior to 1962 being good ones for the stock exchange. This all changed in January when share prices plummeted. President Kennedy attributed the decline as a correction for the rises of the past ten years.

1973-74-Stock market crash

The Dow Jones fell by 45% during the stock market crash which lasted two years between January 1973 and December 1974. The UK markets feared even worse losing 73% of it’s value during this time. The collapse of the Bretton Woods System was to blame. This is a system devised many decades earlier on an agreed fixed currency rate. 44 countries met in Bretton Wood to discuss the currency issue in 1944 hence the name Bretton Woods System.

1987-Black Monday

19th October 1987 will always be known as “Black Monday,” after the biggest one day fall in the stock market in history took place. Leading up to the crash many traders borrowed money to purchase shares and as share prices rose they borrowed more money using the value of their shares as security, however, when the stock market dropped by 20% in one day many investors owed more money than the value of their shares and found themselves in financial turmoil.

1997-Asian Financial Crisis

Many stock markets in Asia fell dramatically between July and October due to an overheated market. Many who bought shares on credit or with borrowed money were hit hard by the crash.

2007-2008-Global Financial Crisis

The failure of several financial institutions in the United States.

2020-The Covid Market Crash

Stock markets dropped 34% in one day on March 23 2020 as Covid-19 was starting to take hold. This started a worldwide recession caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Who knows when the next share market crash will occur; one thing is for certain, it will be out of the control of investors. It is up to each of us to plan our finances in such a way as to minimize the effect of a financial meltdown in the markets. This can be done by diversification; that is by having your money invested in a range of industries. This way you are not placing too many eggs in the one basket.

ABOUT THIS ARTICLE

This article does not represent financial advice, but rather is the opinion of the writer. It is strongly advised that you seek independent advice from a qualified person. Feel free to share this article. You may use this article as content for your ebook or website. Visit my site www.robertastewart.com for other articles.

Why Aweber?

Why Aweber?

Aweber

If you are searching for an auto responder then it has to be aweber. The aweber autoresponder system provides all you need for your business. Check it out for yourself.

 

Pricing – Aweber is competitive in terms of pricing. You may be able to find less expensive options, but that lower price comes at a sacrifice in terms of deliverability, options, and support.  At the same time, Aweber is very affordable. You can start with a $1 trial and then continue at just $19 per month for up to 500 subscribers. With this plan you can send an unlimited number of emails per month

 

Templates – If you’re not a programmer (and most of us are not!) then it’s not easy to create great-looking opt-in forms or newsletters. Aweber has a very large selection of both that you can use as-is or easily customize to fit your business.

 

 Customer Support –Aweber customer support is top notch, offering phone support, live online chat, email, webinars, a free e-course, tutorials, and more. 

When you start to use the program there is even a set-up walk-through. If you’ve got problems or questions, there are a number of different ways to get help. 

 

Emails – In Aweber you have a number of features and options when it comes to sending emails. Most email software programs allow you to send both autoresponders and broadcasts but not many have a blog broadcast feature. Blog broadcasts makes are a way to send your latest blog updates directly – and automatically – to your subscribers. Aweber is also up to date in terms of social media functions, allowing you to automatically and instantly post your emails to Twitter and/or Facebook.

 

 High Deliverability – One of the most important factors you need to consider is whether or not your emails are getting to their targeted inboxes. If they’re not, all your efforts are for nothing. Aweber provides top-deliverability to its customers. They are constantly working hard to establish relationships with internet service providers so emails from Aweber will be delivered, not diverted to the Junk Folder. Aweber has one of the highest deliverability rates in the industry. 

Click here for access:

www.aweber.com/aweber-shopify.htm?id=499027

Do you have discretionary income to invest?

Do you have discretionary income to invest?

Why not invest it in Bitcoin?

You may not get rich and you may lose it all but then again your money could double, treble, quadruple in value and even more in a short time.

That is the exciting part about bitcoin.

No one knows how high it may go…

If you had bought $100 worth of bitcoin 10 years ago you would now be a millionaire.

but…

bitcoin is volatile therefore, one should only purchase bitcoin with discretionary spending money.

What is discretionary spending money?

That is anything left over after paying your fixed costs such as rates, rent, taxes, power, holidays, etc.

In other words, purchase cryptocurrency with money you can afford to lose.

Ready to take the next step?

Ready to invest in bitcoin? 

https://yazing.com/deals/blockfi/robertalan

Share market tips for the Mum and Dad investor

Share market tips for the Mum and Dad investor

Written by R. A. Stewart

I think it is fair to say that a lot of people dream of hitting it big on the share market and some do but for everyone who has found a pot of gold in the markets there are countless others who entered the markets blindly without doing their homework or having a strategy in place; this article is to give you some pointers if you have some money to spare and are looking for somewhere to invest your hard earned cash.

In the share market, as in real life, if you are able to reduce your number of bad decisions then you will be better off; not that there’s anything wrong with making mistakes.

You are sometimes better off by learning a lesson the hard way if that is what it takes for you to get the lesson. 

Here then are my sharemarket pointers.

1 Investing directly into the share market is beyond most small investors because their abilty to diversify their portfolio is limited therefore the only option is to invest all of their funds in one company which leaves them open to disaster. If that particular industry which the company is involved in suffers a downturn, value of the share heads south. It is similar to a horse racing fan attending the track and betting all of their money on the one horse instead of dividing their bankroll between several horses.

Small investors are able to invest in the markets, however, and enjoy the same benefits of larger investors by investing in managed funds; this is where your savings are combined with other investors. You do not have the choice of which companies to invest your money in as that decision is left to the trust manager, however, you can choose which type of fund to invest in whether growth, balanced, or conservative.

2 Investing in the markets is a long-term game, therefore, if you require the money in the short term then you may be better off leaving your money in fixed term interest bearing accounts however, having said that, investing in the markets can increase your savings if you give it enough time. Young people have the advantage of time on their side; they are able to take more risks with their money because they have more time to recover from financial setbacks than their parents.

3 Don’t try to time the markets! It is time and not timing which is the key to making money in the share market. If you are waiting until the markets dip before investing you are missing out on plenty of opportunities to increase your capital and this is particularly true in a rising market. 

4 Decide whether the money is required in the short term, medium term, or long term before deciding on where to invest your money. 

Money needed in the short term or on standby is money which may be needed for car repairs, a holiday, household expenses etc

Medium term funds is money needed for a new car

Long term funds are savings for your retirement such as your superannuation funds.

Short term is not money which should be invested in bank deposits where you are able to have easy access to it.

Medium term money can be invested in managed funds where you are able to have easy access to it but still have the potential for it to grow.

Long term money is money invested in a retirement fund such as kiwisaver in New Zealand.

Conclusion

Think of money as “seed,” it will reap a nice harvest if you give it enough time, therefore you need to sow enough seed in order to increase your wealth; the sharemarket is an excellent investment and managed funds makes it easier for the ordinary person to get involved in the markets. My site www.robertastewart.com has articles to help you increase your wealth. CHECK IT OUT!

Sharesies

Sharesies makes it possible for anyone to get into buying and selling shares. It is an online share market platform where you have the option of purchasing shares in individual companies or in various funds (managed/mutual funds). You can even start with $5. This is a no brainer because it gives investors young and not so young the chance to improve their financial literacy. There is certainly no substitute for experience when it comes to learning and this is applicable to everything else, not just investing.

Join sharesies here: https://sharesies.nz/r/377DFM

Note: This article is of the opinion of the writer and does not represent financial advice.

 

Which shares should I buy in 2022?

Which are the best stocks to take a punt on in 2022?

Here are my tips:

Written by R. A. Stewart

2022 is nearly here and those of you who like to have a dabble on the sharemarket through using those micro investment apps such as Robinhood in the US or Sharesies in New Zealand giving some thought to which shares are most likely to outperform the market. 

It is hard for the ordinary man in the street to pick a stock that is likely to do well for the simple fact is that the same information you are using to base your predictions on is available to everyone else. Still there is no harm in trying. There is a certain amount of satisfaction in making your own selections as there is from selecting your own horses to back in the Melbourne Cup without relying on the newspaper tipsters.

Without further ado, here are my tips:

Fonterra

Despite being blamed for climate change, this is my number one company for 2022 because there is always a demand for dairy products, and with Christopher Luxon being appointed as National Party leader, it has become more likely that National could steal the next general election due in 2023. This current government, led by Jacinda Ardern, has anti-farming policies which is really just biting the hand which feeds us since farming brings in so much export earnings.

Spark

Spark is my second tip. This is more than just a phone company. They also have contracts to televise certain sporting events. 

Genesis

Genesis is an energy company. We all use power so I see no reason why this will not remain a steady stock. Trustpower and Meridian Energy are other power companies worth investing in.

Fletcher Building

A great New Zealand company. New Zealand is in a building boom due to the need for more houses. Problem for Fletcher though is that the demand for timber is outstripping supply.

Ryman Healthcare

The retirement industry is big business and so those companies which provide services to the elderly should flourish in the next decade and Ryan is one of these.

Companies to avoid:

With so much uncertainty in the tourism industry, any company involved in tourism and hospitality is best avoided as are most retail companies as the internet is affecting sales, though one exception could be Wrightsons which is a farming retailer.

Media and TV stations also have challenging times ahead as viewers get their information online.

Sharesies

Sharesies makes it possible for anyone to get into buying and selling shares. It is an online share market platform where you have the option of purchasing shares in individual companies or in various funds (managed/mutual funds). You can even start with $5. This is a no brainer because it gives investors young and not so young the chance to improve their financial literacy. There is certainly no substitute for experience when it comes to learning and this is applicable to everything else, not just investing.

Join sharesies here: https://sharesies.nz/r/377DFM

Note: This article is of the opinion of the writer and does not represent financial advice.

The Risks of Bitcoin

INTRODUCTION

There are risks with bitcoin that investors need to be aware of in order to manage them. They may be out of the control of investors but at least there are steps one can to in order to minimize the risk. The risks will not be eliminated but at least you can mitigate them to a certain extent.

The Risks of Bitcoin that investors need to be aware of

Risk one-The volatility of bitcoin

Everyone knows how volatile bitcoin is and those who invest in this will see the value of this cryptocurrency fluctuate quite dramatically. Unless you can cope with the rises and falls of bitcoin then investing in bitcoin is not for you. There is little to be gained if the loss of your capital is going to cause you to lose sleep. I cannot stress enough the importance of using your discretionary spending money to play the cryptocurrency market. 

What is discretionary spending?

It is money which is spent on travel, eating out, entertainment, hobbies and sports. 

You would never spend the rent money or money which has been set aside for your retirement on entertainment such as a day out at the races so you should not use that money for playing the cryptocurrency market either.

Risk two-Hacking

A company called “Cryptopia ” which was an online bitcoin trading platform held funds invested in Bitcoin. It was hacked into and all those with bitcoin invested with cryptopia lost their money. There were some sad stories concerning the large amount of money lost by some individuals. 

It has to be repeated that you should never play cryptocurrency money with funds you cannot afford to lose or to place too many eggs in the one basket as many of these investors appear to have done.

The other thing I have to add is that the actual amount of money lost by cryptopia investors is likely to be grossly inflated due to the rising price of bitcoin. If someone invested $1,000 in bitcoin and this rose to $10,000 in a few years only for them to lose the lot. It will go on record that this person has lost 10k when in actual fact, it was just 1k they lost.

Risk three-Lost passwords

An Australian man is locked out of his bitcoin wallet because he cannot even remember his password. The website where he has his bitcoin will lock him out of his wallet permanently if he has made ten failed login attempts. He has made eight. He has over 300k in his bitcoin wallet. 

The lesson here is to write down your password and keep it locked away in a safe place. 

The other piece of advice is to diversify your portfolio so that if something goes horribly wrong you will not lose too much in one hit.

Risk four-Government controls

Governments have the ability to ban crypto trading; China has done just that. Several agencies in China have joined forces to ban what they describe as “illegal” cryptocurrency activity. This is not to say other countries will follow suit but it just illustrates a point that governments do have the power to do this.

Risk five-Taxation

Two things in life are certain, death and taxes. You can be sure that at some point the taxman will want a piece of your bitcoin pie. Whether it be in the form of a Capital Gains Tax or the increased value of bitcoin. It should be remembered that if you are being taxed on the Capital Gains of your bitcoin then it may be possible to claim tax back on any capital losses. A good accountant will be able to advise you here.

Whatever form of capital gains you are investing in it should always be remembered that when there is the opportunity for capital gains there is also the possibility of capital loss. Investing in cryptocurrency is risky therefore, it cannot be stressed enough that the money you invest in bitcoin must be money you can afford to lose.

ABOUT THIS ARTICLE

You are welcome to use this article as content for your ebook or website. More articles by R.A.Stewart can be found at www.robertastewart.com

Ready to invest in bitcoin? Check this out:

https://yazing.com/deals/blockfi/robertalan

BITCOIN IS AN EXCITING INVESTMENT

INTRODUCTION

Investing in cryptocurrency can be exciting and lucrative but it pays to exercise some common sense strategies if you are going to participate in this form of investment; one which can be classed as pure speculation. 

Investing in Cryptocurrency?

Be sensible and follow all of the basic rules of investing. A few people have got burnt fingers by not following some of the most basic common sense rules which apply to all forms of investing. I have made a list of the main ones to consider. Here they are.

Number one: Invest only discretionary money in Cryptocurrency

The money you are using to purchase Bitcoin, Ethereum, and the like must be money you can fully afford to lose. It must be discretionary spending money. You wouldn’t go to the races or the betting shop with your retirement fund and use that to gamble with. Cryptocurrency investing has to be treated in the same way. It is highly volatile. The number one rule is to purchase cryptocurrency with money you can fully afford to lose using only your discretionary spending money.

What is discretionary spending money?

That is up to an individual’s own priorities and personal circumstances. One person may consider money set aside for a holiday to the islands as discretionary spending but someone else may not want to risk that money in Bitcoin.

Number two: Assess the risk 

As with any investment it is important to assess the risk. It is no secret that Bitcoin is volatile but if you abide by rule number one then there will be little or no change in your financial situation if the cryptocurrency market takes a tumble. Market volatility is not the only risk investors in some countries have to face. China imposed a blanket ban on all crypto transactions in order to stop all cryptocurrency related activities.

Number three: Don’t get greedy

Greed gets the better of a lot of investors. They see the value of their Bitcoin skyrocket and decide to use money which they should not be speculating with for purchasing more Bitcoin. Having some form of exposure to the cryptocurrency market adds an exciting string to your financial bow but don’t try to get rich quick by diverting all of your money to Bitcoin and ignoring other forms of investment.

Number four: Diversify

Spreading your risk helps minimize the risk of losing all your money in one go. Several investors lost all of their money in one major financial hit during the 2008 Global Financial Crisis when companies they invested their life savings with went under. They invested all of their eggs into one basket.

What has this got to do with investing in Bitcoin? Hacking is a danger with Bitcoin therefore having money spread among different platforms will reduce your chances of this happening.

Number five: Use different platforms

Hacking is a possibility which can see your cryptocurrency disappear. It is a good idea to invest your cryptocurrency among different platforms such as blockchain, binanance, blockfi. etc. That way if one of these platforms gets hacked you won’t lose everything in one go.

Number six: Find a safe place to store your password

This is important because many of these cryptocurrency trading websites will only allow you a certain number of wrong passwords and after that you will be permanently locked out of the site.

You wouldn’t want this happening to you. 

There are several things which can go wrong in the crypto-market but with careful planning you can mitigate the risks. Ready to take the next step and invest in Bitcoin? Check out this cryptocurrency platform here:

https://yazing.com/deals/blockfi/robertalan

The advantages of saving money

INTRODUCTION

If ever there was a habit which needs to be acquired from a young age it is the habit of saving money. It is a habit that will help one achieve financial goals. There are so many advantages of saving money as compared to just spending everything you make and if you are able to save something each week then you will be better off financially in the long-term.

The advantages of saving money

The ability to save for all the things you need will put you in a much better financial situation in the long-term. It will mean you pay less for whatever you are buying and places you in a less stressful situation. Mind you some borrowers just don’t care that they are in debt as long as they are able to pay it back. 

The crunch comes when there is a job loss or some health issue arises and there is no money in the kitty to pay the bills. 

A person who has set up their finances properly will factor in these types of emergencies in making their financial plan. 

Saving money is a no-brainer; here are the five main reasons for not borrowing.

1 NO DEBT

Borrowing money for the things you need or want puts you in debt. It means that you are indebted to someone else. Sooner or later it all has to be paid back along with the interest. The debt is not going away until it is paid off so there is no point in burying your head in the sand if you are indebted to your creditors. Creditors have every right to expect repayment of their money whether they are the bank or other lending institution or a family member.

2 COST OF BORROWING

There is a cost attached to borrowing money and that cost is interest which is sometimes referred to as “Dead Money.” Paying interest on the stuff you buy on credit adds to the cost of the item. The habit of purchasing goods on credit adds up to a massive amount over the course of your lifetime. That interest money could have been used to build a nest egg. Commercial debt is the worst type of credit spending because the item which has been bought on credit loses its value as time goes by. Another name for commercial debt is dumb debt. 

3 READY MONEY FOR EMERGENCIES

Emergencies crop up from time to time. The car breaks down, the washing machine needs repairing, you suffer a tooth ache and need to go to the dentist, you need a new pair of spectacles. There could be anyone for a number of reasons for financial emergency. If you have money set aside for these then you can tend to these emergencies without worrying about whether you have the money to pay for them. Every responsible person has an emergency fund on hand to cushion them against financial shocks which can occur from time to time.

4 A NEST EGG FOR THE FUTURE

Saving money means you are able to build up a nest egg for the future. If you are a responsible person you will have a retirement scheme of some kind where a portion of your pay goes into the fund. In New Zealand it is called Kiwisaver. I can not stress enough how important it is to be enrolled in Kiwisaver if you are from New Zealand. The government incentives make this scheme a no-brainer. Your country will have its own scheme with it’s own benefits.

5 TAKE ADVANTAGE OF SPECIALS

If you have no money then you will not be able to take advantage of specials. That does not mean you should spend money on something for no other reason than it is special. Your own common sense and self control should be employed here.

6 A DOLLAR SAVED IS A DOLLAR MADE

There is a saying that a dollar saved is a dollar made. The truth is a dollar saved is better than a dollar made because you do not pay tax on a dollar saved which is not the case when you make a dollar. Every dollar which you save can be working hard for you in whatever investment you place it in.

A competent money manager will not have any room in their vocabulary for such words as debt, credit, credit card, loan, lay-by, or hire purchase. In fact these are all dirty words to the person who wants to get financially ahead. 

Having said all of this, there can be times when borrowing money can be worthwhile. 

But…

And it is very big but. 

You have to be absolutely sure that the payoff is worth your while.

Take a student loan for example; You need to be absolutely sure that the type of job which the course qualifications assist you with is something that you really want to do, otherwise the whole course will be a waste of time and money.

ABOUT THIS ARTICLE

Feel free to share this article. You may also use this article as content for your website or ebook or do anything you wish with it. Check out my other articles on www.robertastewart.com

www.robertastewart.com

Looking to add another string to your financial bow? Sharesies is an online platform enabling everyone to have access to the sharemarket for a minimum investment. It is a terrific way to build up your financial literacy, not to mention your wealth. Check it out here:

https://sharesies.com/r/377DFM